SSA released an emergency message to employees that starting April 25, 2025, the withholding rate on overpayments would be 50%.
The change comes less than two months after SSA announced it would reinstate a longstanding policy of withholding 100 percent of benefits from people it determines had been overpaid. That reversed guidelines implemented last year to cap such clawbacks at 10 percent of monthly payments. The 50 percent withholding applies to overpayments of retirement benefits, survivor benefits, family benefits and Social Security Disability Insurance(SSDI) of which recipients are notified after April 25. Most prior overpayments of those benefits will remain subject to the 10 percent cap, as will any overpayments of Supplemental Security Income (SSI), regardless of when they happened.
The April 25 message from SSA’s Office of Legal Policy and Office of Income Security Programs states that language about the 10 percent withholding rate will be updated to 50 percent in outgoing overpayment notices.
Recipients who receive a notice have 90 days to appeal SSA’s claim that they were overpaid. They can also request a waiver of repayment, or a repayment rate below 50 percent, for reasons of financial need. Absent any of these actions, withholding will begin after 90 days. SSA has a fact sheet with more information on appeal and repayment options.
See this newsletter on overpayments.